Escutcheon plate or the like



April 19, 1938. FALK 2,114,340

ESCUTCHEON PLATE OR THE LIKE Filed March 27, 1937 a. n INVENTOR, 10f"lulu-$ MW $21k,

I '4 12 HI) ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 19, 1938 ESCUTCHEON PLATE OR THE LIKE Morris Falk,Leominstfir, Mass, assignor to Independent Lock Com pany, Fitchburg,Mass, a

corporation of Massachusetts Application March 27,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to escutcheon plates; more particularly toescutcheon plates for doors.

The invention has for its objective the provision of escutcheon platesfor doors which are of simple and inexpensive manufacture, and includeconstructional details whereby builders hardware, of the characterdescribed, may have imparted thereto pleasing surface ornamentation,more particularly, contrasting color schemes, without the unusualexpense involved for such purposes, such as may be entailed in theexpense of complex coatings or in enamelling such parts as are employedto impart ornamental, as well as utilitarian features.

Where it has been found desirable to supply a demand for highlyornamental builder's hardware, particularly escutcheons carrying out predetermined surface finishing designs or color contrasts, in keeping withsome general decorative 20 plan, the provision of such hardware asescutcheons in a variey of embellished eifects or colors, such asmulti-tone or two-tone eifects, required that such parts be more or lesscustom made as otherwise dealers in such products are not prone to carrya large supply of a variety of decorated parts or of a variety ofcolored, or contrastingly colored parts, for fear that the whims of thetrade for different ornamentation or contrasting color eifects may leavethe dealer with 30 a quantity of unsaleable or difiicultly saleableproducts.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an escutcheonplate permitting the employment of a variety of ornamental materials,

' such as bronze, plated materials, synthetic plastics ornamented invarious colors, and to include in the construction of an escutcheonplate of this character, a separable element whereby differentornamental color effects may be produced.

40 It is contemplated by my invention to include in an escutcheon plate,simple and inexpensive mounting means for a replaceable orinterchangeable element of exceedingly low cost, whereby this low costelement may be retained in stock 4 by the dealer, with differentornamental effects or in a variety of colors, without entailing anyconsiderable expense, whereby this replaceable element may beinterchangeably positioned with a simple number of, or a small stocknumber of 50 ornamented primary escutcheon plates.

Thus, it is a further object of my invention to provide a primary bodyconstituting an escutcheon, which may be made and ornamented in acomparatively simple number of stock ornamen- 55 tal finishes and withwhich a contrasting, inter- 1937, Serial No. 133,371

changeable element may be associated, the replaceable element being ofsuch low cost and being so readily replaced that a dealer may retain onhand such elements in large number and with a variety of finishes orcolor effects, to supply all reasonable demands, but without involvinghimself in an unusually high investment to meet such contingencies.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide means forsupplying the trade with a '10 wide variety of ornamental escutcheons,yet effecting considerable economy without entailing the dealer in largeinvestments to meet all the contingencies and requirements of the trade.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein orbe hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanying drawingforming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of anescutcheon plate for a door; 7

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a replaceable element therefor;

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section taken on of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of my invention;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-5 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a section taken on the line 7-! of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a section taken along the line of Figure 4, with anotherembodiment.

Making reference to the drawing, I have i1lus-- trated an escutcheonplate IE, exemplifying the form of the escutcheon plate that usually isassociated with a door. The contour of the escutcheon may be givenvarious configurations of pleasing and ornamental character, and may bemade from a variety of materials, such as molded materials employingsynthetic plastics, such as phenol formaldehyde condensation products,polymerized vinyl compounds, plasticized cellulosic compounds such ascellulose acetate, all of which may be made by a molding, die casting orinjection casting method.

The main body of the escutcheon plate may likewise be made of castmetal, such as bronze, brass, or metal stampings, in which a variety offinishes may be imparted thereto, such as by nickel plating or chromiumplating, or by bronze finishing or enamelling.

The escutcheon plate I 0 may be formed at its face it with any desiredsurface configuration,

the line 4-4 2 and includes a recess or orifice I2, into which there isfixed, by crimping, a door knob boss I3, having outwardly fiaredshoulders It. It will be understood that the door knob boss may beintegrally formed with the main body of the escutcheon plate in themanner which will appear more clearly as this description proceeds.

The front face of the escutcheon is provided with a surface terminatingrecess or seat I5, preferably of such contour as will ornamentallyconform with the general contour of the escutcheon plate. The recess mayextend for a substantial part of the entire escutcheon plate; preferablyhowever, the recess adjacent the lowermost portion I6 encompasses theaffixing orifice II.

The recess or seat I5, at its upper end, preferably terminates adjacentan overhang I8, provided by the shoulder I4 of the door knob boss. Thebody of the escutcheon is otherwise formed with a key hole [9.

With an escutcheon plate having the face terminating recess or seat asdescribed, there is then provided an insert element 20, shown in Figure2. This element 20 has its profile 2i corresponding to the contour ofthe recess or seat I5. The lower edge 22 includes a screw orifice 23,adapted to align with the orifice II in the body of the escutcheon. Akey hole Z l is positioned on the element 20 to align with the key holeI9 formed in the body of the escutcheon. The upper end 25 serves as ameans for affixing the same in the recess or seat I5 and for thispurpose is arranged to be received underneath the overhang I8 providedby the shoulders I4 of the door knob boss I3.

With an insert element thus provided, a highly ornamental contrastingcolor and design effect is readily produced, as will be apparent from aninspection of Figure l, with the element 20 inserted within the recessor seat I5. This is accomplished by first inserting the end 25underneath the overhang I8 and then dropping the body of the element 20within. the recess I5. In this position, an attaching element such as ascrew or bolt may be passed through the aligned orifices 23 and II, toafhx the element and escutcheon plate in position upon the door surfaceadjacent the lock.

At the upper end of the escutcheon, another screw orifice 26 may beprovided, to provide additional means to attach the escutcheon plate inposition.

It will be understood that the insert element 20 may be made of metal,to which an ornamental finish may be given, such as by bronzing,enamelling, nickel-plating, chromium-plating, or the like. This insertelement may likewise be of plastic material, cut, cast or molded fromsuch material.

The character of the insert element 20 will readily be understood to beof such low cost as to permit a trader to maintain on hand a largevariety of such elements, each ornamented or finished to produce a largevariety of pleasing effects in contrast with the background of the mainbody escutcheon plate.

It will be understood that while it is preferred by me to have thethickness of the element 2!! correspond to the depth of the recess I5,to provide a surface termination of the element 29 with the surface IIof the escutcheon III, only a portion of the element 20 need be soformed to be received within the recess.

Thus, it is sufficient thatthe insert element have a seat correspondingto the recess I5, with portions extending beyond and above the surface II, to give a raised appearance whereby different ornamental effects maybe produced. It will also be understood that the portion extendingoutside of the recess may be given various contours, thereby to furtherincrease and vary the ornamental contrast which may be imp-arted to thecombined elements comprising the body portion of the escutcheon and theinsert element 253.

In Figures 6 and 7 I have illustrated another embodiment of my inventionin which the es cutcheon plate Illa is more particularly suitable whereit is desired to employ a synthetic plastic. In this construction, thebody portion lid is molded or otherwise formed to provide an orificeI2a, terminating in a door knob boss ISa, having an outwardly flaredshoulder I la, adjacent the face side. On the face side II, there isformed a face terminating recess or seat IEa, one end whereof extendstowards the edge Isa and over lies an attaching orifice I711. Theopposite end merges beneath the collar I la, providing an overhang IBa.by the slot formed by the recess Hid, which terminates in the wall ofthe orifice IEia of the boss for the door knob.

For purposes of facilitating the formation of the overhang orifice ISain the illustration shown, there is provided the core orifice I81). Itwill be understood that where manufacturing procedure dictates that theoverhang orifice or slot Ilia be provided separate from the molding orcasting operation, this may be accomplished by a routing operation, inwhich event the core orifice 58b may not appear in the escutcheon.

Additionally, the molding operation may provide a keyhole orifice I9a,located in position in accordance with the embodiment previouslydescribed.

In all other respects, by the inclusion of the attaching orifice 26a,the embodiment described in Figure 6 includes all of the features ofconstruction heretofore referred to in connection with the embodimentillustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4, and may have combined therewith theinsert element 20, illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 5, therefore, provides an escutcheon body which isinterchangeable with the escutcheon body illustrated in Figures 1 and 3,for the retention therein of the insert element 28.

In Figure 8 I have shown a fragmentary section of another embodiment ofmy invention in which the variable element receiving recess may extendthrough to the back surface of the escutcheon plate. In this embodiment,the main body of the escutcheon plate IGb is provided with a surfaceterminating recess Ilia, extending from the front surface to the rearsurface, and includes an undercut shoulder I51). Otherwise, the surfaceterminating recess I5a may correspond to the form and contour of thevariable insert element 26, in accordance with some predeterminedoutline.

With an escutcheon plate which includes the surface terminating orificeI511 and the overhang shoulder I5b, there may be provided an insertelement 200,, the upper portion whereof 2Ia corresponds to the narrowportion of the recess I5a and the lower portion 2Ib corresponds incontour to be received by the overhang I52).

With the construction shown in Figure 8, the variable insert element ispositioned through the rear face of the escutcheon plate until theinsert element 2011 has the portion ZIa nested within the recess I50,and the portion ZIb, and is held by the shoulder I51) and is nestedwithin the enlarged portion so provided.

In other respects, the construction of the escutcheon plate will bereadily understood except that this embodiment requires the inclusion ofattaching orifices formed solely in the body of the escutcheon plate,which in turn will hold the insert element 28a in position.

It will be understood that while I have described and illustrated myinvention as having particular utility in connection with escutcheonplates for doors in that this element receives a major consideration inornamenting and effecting some ornamental treatment, and further in thatthis part of the door receives a great deal of wear due to handling,requiring renovation, it will be understood that in certain respects myinvention has applicability in switch plates, lighting fixtures, such aswall brackets and door knockers.

In general, it will be observed that I have provided an escutcheon platein which great economies are effected in that a simple number of bodymembers may serve interchangeably to mount a large variety of the insertelements, and that this element being of low cost, will not involve adealer in a large investment to meet the con tingencies arising byreason of the need for different ornamental effects, color contrasts,and surface finishings, in the builders hardware referred to.

While I have illustrated my invention in the preferred form, it will beunderstood that the exemplification is not to be construed as limiting,but within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, What I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable surface replacement element, means formed on the exposedface of said body portion serving as locating means to seat said elementand as attaching means, and means on said element cooperating with saidfirst means for interfitting said locating and attaching means whereby avariable surface assembly of the cooperating body portion and element isobtainable.

2. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable surface replacement inlay element, said body portionhaving formed therein a surface terminating recess, said element beingformed to have a portion thereof fit within said recess and means formedon said body and inlay element, respectively, for detachably holdingsaid element in position.

3. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable inlay element, said body portion having formed therein asurface terminating recess adjacent the front face thereof, attachingorifices for said body portion, a boss member, said element being formedto have a portion thereof fit within said recess and including a portionthereof formed to engage said boss member, a plurality of orifices insaid body portion and inlay element, one of which is a keyhole orifice,the other of which is an attaching orifice, said keyhole and attachingorifices in said body and inlay portion being in alignment when saidinlay is seated within said recess.

4. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and an inlayelement, said portion having formed therein a surface terminatingrecess, a portion of said body being formed with an overhang adjacentone end of said recess and a plurality of orifices encompassed withinthe body portion and extending through said recess, said inlay elementhaving a portion thereof formed to be received within said recess and toengage said overhang and including a plurality of orifices, one of whichis a keyhole orifice arranged to be aligned with the keyhole orifice ofthe body portion, the other orifices serving as attaching means for theescutcheon assembly and for holding the inlay element in the seatedposition,

5. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable surface replacement element, said body portion includinga door knob boss having formed thereon an overhang, a surfaceterminating seat formed in the body portion for the replaceable element,one end of said seat underlying said overhang, an attaching orificepassing through said body portion adjacent the opposite end of saidseat, said element including a portion formed to be received by saidoverhang and including an orifice adapted to align with said orificewhereby a fastening element may be passed through said aligned orifices,holding said element in position upon said seat and afiixing saidescutcheon assembly in position.

6. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable surface replacement element, a seat for said elementformed in the face of said body portion, a boss extending from the faceof said body portion and provided with an interlocking portion adjacentone end of said seat, said element including a portion formed tocorrespond to said seat and having on one end thereof a portionremovably engageable with said interlocking portion of said bodyportion, and cooperating fastening means on said body portion andelement, respectively, adjacent the opposite end of said element andbody portion in relation to said interlocking portion.

7. An escutcheon comprising, in combination, a body portion and aninterchangeable, readily removable surface inlay element, said bodyportion having formed therein a door knob boss and a surface terminatingrecess in the front face of said body portion, a locking overhang formedin said boss adjacent one end of said recess, said body portionincluding an escutcheon assembly attaching orifice disposed opposite tosaid boss, said element having a profile adapted to be received withinsaid recess, one end whereof underlying said overhang, the other endincluding an orifice in alignment with the orifice of said body portionwhereby an attaching element may be passed through said orifices to holdsaid element in assembled position with the body portion and afiix saidescutcheon in position.

MORRIS FALK.

